UEFA European Football Championship 2020 (21) , the Time has Come

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Southgate is going to set his team up even more negatively than usual - is that possible? - and that is going to leave Kane isolated up front.
At least players like Rooney and Shearer had the ability to drop deep and hold the ball up, an off the pace Kane is crap at that.

Calvert-Lewin would be a far better option at holding the ball up and waiting for support from midfield and wide.

Possibly even play without a recognised centre-forward a la Guardiola - I think they call it a 'false 9' nowadays.

Could be wrong....hopefully I am.

a reply to: Freeborn

I find myself far more excited about watching Wales play today, than watching England play at all.

Wales may seem to have only a slim to even chance of getting any further, but they play to win and that’s exciting to watch, whatever the result.

These days, even when England win, I feel like that’s 90 minutes I want back.

ETA: I might get that put on a t-shirt:

‘EUROS 2021: EVEN WHEN ENGLAND WIN, THATS 90 MINUTES I WANT BACK’

3 hours to go , Good luck Wales.

Wales 0 Denmark 1

Wales had a bright start with Bale unlucky not to score in the opening minutes but the Danes have found their feet and have started to dominate possession resulting in Kasper Dolberg scoring in the 27th minute.

Don't see this game being a bore draw.

a reply to: gortex

Of all that is good, let my brothers equalise..

Referees need to learn how a player jumps. That yellow card was ridiculous

COME ON WALES!!!

(5 minutes later).....

......Ah well, thats the end of that

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

The ref seems to have it in for Moore and Wales. He’s let a few fouls on Moore slip by, whilst carding Moore way too harshly. Then ignores another foul on Moore leading to goal 2.

Bit that was a howler of a clearance from Williams, though - he should an assist for it.

a reply to: McGinty

Yeah i dont like the ref's attitude. You're right about the foul leading up to the goal. But what a sh1te clearance from Williams

Great third goal , Denmark deserve the win.
Wales 0 Denmark 3


Wales have a player sent off , that red card sums up the Ref ... ridiculous.

a reply to: gortex

Wales were playing 12 men today.

That referee should be wearing a white jersey, what a joke of a red card.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Yes, should have been a yellow at worst.

But the game was well and truly over by then.
Denmark were by far the better side.

Their manager did something Southgate should learn from; he read the game and made tactical changes early. Those changes allowed Denmark to dominate the game.

Wales have done well and can take a lot of positives out of the tournament.
Hopefully the lessons learnt can help them when/if they qualify for the next World Cup.

Bale suggested in his interview that the ref was possibly influenced by the danish heavy crowd in the stands. Bale looked furious and I don’t blame him - the reffing was the most partisan I’ve seen in a long time.

the BBC pundits are cowardly #es, refusing to acknowledge the very dodgy reffing throughout. Every time there was a pro Welsh VAR check the ref didn’t seem to wait for the result and whistled to kick off straight away. For the pro Denmark check for goal 4 he waited an eternity, allowing the clock to run down.

I wonder if any other channels are calling it out?

One thing remains consistent with Italy .... they're very good a falling over and acting like they've been shot.


People had Italy as favourites

a reply to: gortex

One thing remains consistent with Italy .... they're very good a falling over and acting like they've been shot.

An affliction that seems to affect everyone nowadays.
But yes, the Italians are particularly adept at it, they have after all been doing it for far longer than most.

People had Italy as favourites

Not necessarily favourites, they just looked the best side in the Group stage.
And as I've previously stated; the best side in the qualifying stage rarely wins the tournament.

There goes the first upset of the tournament

Holland are out, deservedly so imo. The red card was a red card imo.

The Czechs are resolute in defence, very strong.

My selection are up shortly, Portugal. Hopefully its a cracking game. As long as they dont cancel each other out with a bore draw..

Belgium 1 - 0 Portugal.

It's noteworthy because Portugal won 2016.

a reply to: McGinty

Bale suggested in his interview that the ref was possibly influenced by the danish heavy crowd in the stands.

I said the exact same thing during the game.
I didn't agree with it but I kind of understood the motive.

Doesn't make it right but I could see it.

France v Switzerland… What an amazing game last night?

Mbappe is an extraordinary footballer, but everyone has their peaks and troughs. Mbappe clearly wasn’t anywhere near his form, missing a few chances he’d normally put away no problem. The penalty was very poor by his standards and my heart goes out to the poor fella. Seeing his poor form he shouldn’t have been on the pitch after the first half and definitely shouldn’t have been taking a penalty.

Kane is also an extraordinary player who’s even more out of form than Mbeppe, yet still being played… So, will Southgate learn from Deschamps costly error?

a reply to: McGinty

So, will Southgate learn from Deschamps costly error?

No.

But rest assured, he's guaranteed a contract till at least 2024 regardless of how we perform.

a reply to: Freeborn

And why extend his contract before seeing how well, or badly he does in this tournament?

Is it because they fear his price will sky rocket if he does well?

Or because he’s already agreed to the FA’s criteria for keeping his job: Always playing the most highly sponsored players, regardless of their form, which makes the $ponsors happy, which in turn makes the FA leader$hip happy.

Looking at this:
ichef.bbci.co.uk...
(Dunno how to paste a pic here - doesn’t seem to work)

It’s like a boxing promo with a fighter everyone knows has no chance, but the organisers hype the feck out of to sell tickets.

If Kane hadn’t been played, or barely played (as should’ve been the case) in the previous games, then pictures like this to sell this game wouldn’t make sense. And if not Kane, then who’s famous face would be leading this promo? Who would the FA put front and centre and how would they feel explaining that predicament to the sponsors who’ve a ton of cash above and below the boardroom table and now want a refund?

Not exactly a scoop to suggest that football associations are bent, but they’re bloody bent!

a reply to: Freeborn

I posted this in the predictions thread, which is the wrong one for this reply.



Er, so the day has arrived. The big match. The knockout phase has been brilliant so far. Plenty of goals, action, even a penalty shootout.
And then comes Southgate. He's putting a stop to all that goalmouth action. All those runs down the wing beating 2/3 players? None of that. Shots from outside the area? None of that.

But yiz dont care as long as you get the result at the end of the day.

Check out this from the BBC website... BEST DAY'S FOOTBALL EVER?

This is from Dietmar Hamman,

"I would never describe England as Germany's biggest rivals," former player Dietmar Hamann told the Daily Telegraph this week. "Our big rivals have always been seen as the most likely to challenge us."

Pffft sure what does he know huh lads? Amirite?

.............."3 lions on the shirt, Jules Rimet still gleaming"